District Champs Crowned And Playoff Teams Complete!

We’ve crowned the volleyball district champions and the playoff teams were announced over the weekend. Some of the usual suspects in the tournament are either lower seeds than normal, or like 14-11 Bartram Trail, who missed the post season all together. These surprises have made for different matchups in the first round, but the teams are ready for the playoffs. Let’s check them out.

Class 1A

#2 Union County (11-12) – The Tigers lost their district championship to Branford (22-4) but advance to the post season as the #2 seed. Sophomore Jailyn Simmons leads the team with 209 kills and 77 blocks. Indi Knox and Jordan Hendricks both have 26 aces on the season. Jurney Crim leads with 348 digs. Lafayette (12-7) is ranked number three in the playoffs and will face the Tigers Friday.

Class 2A Region 1

#2. Christ’s Church (17-7)

Christ’s Church faces Saint Francis Catholic (14-6) in the first round of the playoffs tomorrow. They defeated St John’s Country Day 3-0 to win their district. Nadia Mortensen has 242 kills on the season. While Sydney Kambach has 74 aces, and 16 blocks. Gracie Achtemeier has 15 blocks, and Julia Howard has 300 digs.

#3. Harvest Community (20-6)

These two teams will run it back a week later. After Harvest defeated Covenant to win the district title, this week they will have a rematch in the first round of the playoffs. For Harvest, their leader ELINA ADHIKARI 207 kills. PRIA ADHIKARI has 80 aces and 475 digs, while Taylor Marts has 36 blocks.

#6 Covenant School of Jacksonville (17-5)

Covenant is led by Taryn Johnson 158 kills, and 118 digs. Maia Arnold has 61 aces and 16 blocks on the season. Covenant has lost all three games to Harvest this season. So it would be a major upset if the deeper team in Christ’s Church fell in round one.

#4. St. Johns Country Day (14-7)

The Spartans face Country Side Christian (14-3) on Tuesday in the first round. St. Johns is led by Brynn White with 153 kills. Bella Gomez leads the team with 65 aces, Ashantii Williams has 21 blocks, and Kate Jacobs has 240 digs. It’s been an up and down season for Spartans standards, but being in the post season means a brand new season to build consistency.

Class 3A Region 1

#1 Trinity Christian (22-3)

Trinity defeated Episcopal to win their district. Trinity Christian 3, Episcopal 0 in straight sets 25-18, 25-13, 25-17. They now face P.K Yonge (12-9) in the first round. Amaria King leads the team with 419 kills. Taylor Teaman leads the team with 342 digs. she and Avery Haney both lead the team with 50 aces. Tyauna Williams has 47 aces. The number one seed is looking to go far this year as their only area loss came to Ridgeview.

#4 Providence (12-12)

The Stallions make it to the post season after falling to Episcopal in the district tournament. They have had a .500 season over all but they face a 10-13 Trinity Prep team in the first round. Isabela Lopez has 305 kills, and 45 aces. Julianna Baskin has 48 blocks while Emily Collings leads the team in digs with 197.

#7 Episcopal (10-18)

Episcopal fell to Trinity in the district championship, but they upset Providence to advance to the championship game. They’ll get another chance to make some noise and get some upsets. They face the #2 ranked Florida State High School. 6’3 Kathryn Almond has 139 kills, and 66 blocks. Lacey Reed has 41 aces, and 300 digs.

Class 4A Region 1

Bishop Kenny (20-7)

District champion Bishop Kenny defeated Bolles to advance as the number 1 seed. they face Yulee on Tuesday. Kenny is led by Claudia Stockard with 228 kills, Natalie Navidi with 42 aces, and Sky Fick with 57 blocks. Mallory Swain with 478 digs. Kenny is a perennial powerhouse and is looking to go all the way.

#8 Yulee (11-6)

Yulee defeated Fernandina 3-0 in the district tournament. The Hornets are looking to shock the state facing Bishop Kenny. Chloe Kaszubinski 171 kills, Marie Hillman 56 aces, 254 digs while Emma Cook has 28 blocks.

#3 Bolles (14-13)

The Bulldogs are headed to the playoffs and they do so at the #3 seed after losing to Kenny in the district championship. They get a rematch with Wolfson who they defeated in the tournament 3-0. Sophia Albaugh has 103 kills, Gracie Arnett has 34 aces, Sally Cleland has 42 blocks, and Penelope Kavalieros has 453 digs. Gracie Arnett achieved her 2,000th assist.

#6 Wolfson (10-5)

The Wolfpack advanced to the playoffs after one of their best regular seasons in recent history. Wolfson’s Delaney Hayman leads the way for the seniors, as she finished tops in in kills (94). Underclassmen to watch include sophomore Trinity Pearson who leads the team in aces (24). As well as junior Nina Corazo who leads the team in blocks (23). Hanna Cohkovic has 70 digs on the years.

#5 Baker County (16-5)

Baker County is in a difficult district with teams in the Big Bend area of Florida. They fell to Wakulla in the district championship 3-2. They now get ready to face North Bay Haven Academy (15-9). Megan Barton leads the team 277 kills, Malayna Loadholtz has 66 aces, Camryn Chick has 66 blocks on the season. Brooklyn Davis is the queen of digs with 337 on the season.

Class 5A Region 1

#1 Middleburg (22-5)

One of the best teams in the state resides here in Northeast Florida as district champion Middleburg comes in as the #1 seed. The Broncos defeated Ridgeview 3-0 to become champs. Connor Rahn leads the team with 338 kills, 51 aces and incredibly 248 digs. Ally Lowery leads the team with 37 blocks. Brooke Forkum is one of the team leaders in kills and aces. Middleburg face #8 Arnold (14-14) on Wednesday.

#2 Ridgeview (18-7)

District runners-up Ridgeview finished another great regular season. By Ridgeview standards though, they are disappointed in not winning the district, but this team is able to go far. With wins over Bartram, Trinity, Beachside and Ponte Vedra. Ridgeview is led by Haley Robinson with 181 kills and 101 blocks. Sydney Little leads in digs with 361 digs. Mariah Bostic-Jones and Brianna Adams both have 33 aces each. They face Columbia in the first round which is not an easy matchup.

#7 Columbia (16-8)

The Tigers fell to Vanguard in the district semifinals 3-1, an upset by seeding but still navigated a great regular season with16 wins. As always with Columbia’s volleyball schedule, it’s hard to tell how good they are due to their schedule. They play mostly rural teams and not metro teams, so they will have a test against Ridgeview. Sinei Wood leads the team with 393 digs, 66 blocks, and 207 kills. Autumn Jones has 206 kills, while Avery Sandlin leads in serving with 63 aces.

#3 Beachside (21-5)

Another team team that has blown through the regular season is Beachside. The Barracudas defeated Stanton 3-0 in the championship. Bartram, Creekside, Ridgeview, all feel to them. Adriana Jeanpierre leads with 305 kills. Laney Lipovetsky leads the team with 67 aces. Lainie Stapleton has 31 blocks, and while Isabella Tavares has 272 digs. They are an all around complete team. They face Booker T Washington (12-13) (Pensacola Fl) on Wednesday.

Class 6A Region 1

#5 Ponte Vedra (13-13)

The Sharks advanced to the playoffs once again, but this time as a 5th seed. Normally they are the #1 seed and by their standards it’s been an off year. They still won their district championship over a great team in Fleming Island, and the team seems to be hitting a stride winning 3 out of the last 4 games. Chelsea Sutton leads the team with 234 kills, 106 blocks. Avery Meide has 31 aces, while Avery Webb has 306 digs. Ponte Vedra plays #4 Leon on Wednesday.

#7 Fletcher (22-5)

The Senators are playoff bound on the backs of leaders Nadia Ewton (334 kills, and 74 aces), Miller Grandy (77 blocks), and Addison Hilton (409 digs), who are all playing great volleyball. Fletcher has navigated a great season record wise with 22 wins and just 5 losses. However, those losses were to playoff teams such as Fleming Island, and Mandarin. They did take down Wolfson and Yulee, two playoff teams so the Senators are good enough this year to knock off post season opponents. The team is ready to face Chiles (22-5) on Wednesday. They are one of only two teams in NE Florida in the 6A playoffs.

Class 7A Region 1

#8 Creekside (11-12)

The record may not reflect it, but the Knights are shining at the right time. Wins over Bartram and Mandarin saw them crowned as district champions for the 4th time in a row. Now they begin a playoff push with confidence. Vivian Scuteri leads with 171 kills and 50 blocks. Lindsay Hopkins has 35 aces, and Lauren Rewey leads the team with 211 digs. As an 8th seed though, they must face #1 Winter Park on the road.

#6 Mandarin (17-6)

The defending Gateway Conference Champions defeated Fletcher 3-2 to repeat as champs. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, they were upset by Creekside in the district tournament, and fell short of hoisting that trophy. Still, they received a #6 seed in the playoffs and look to get back to their winning ways that led them to a great regular season. Kyla Hollis leads the team with 186 kills. Paige Wind has 48 aces. Rayna Joquin has 43 blocks, and Erin Dailey leads in digs with 277. Mandarin is at #3 Timber Creek Wednesday.

Andre Ellis

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